As a fairly long term contributor to the Bodger's Gazette I get the impression that the Web site is very focussed on bowl turning and has a good number of active contributors. Why so few contribute to the gazette is peculiar, as it has a much smaller readership. The great thing about the web site is that you do get responses to what you put in, even though they may not be welcome or useful, and of course it's fast. I would like to see a more active forum on chair making, which seems strangely absent.

On a lighter note: Bodger's Gazette; a publication all to himself! He even had a Ball all to himself this year. It's been like this for years. No wonder the Web site is so popular.

We have the same problem with Revolutions, the newsletter of the AWGB. We pay £50 per page for contributions and still struggle. I know many other association journals have a similar problem, and can only put it down to the different levels of enthusiasm.

Me too ... I'm a little embarrassed about my old-fashioned obsession with apostrophes so I've never mentioned it before

To Don - I think the Gazette and the Forum serve different audiences. On here you tend to have active (and internet-savvy) makers who are doing stuff and solving problems. I guess it's quite bowl-orientated because there is little information anywhere else to help bowl turners. The Gazette maybe suits more casual members, those who are interested in it rather than actively doing it. It's difficult to get folk to write for it because so many craftsmen are not strong at writing ... I think you'll find a very high proportion of dyslexics amongst the Bodgers!

Don't be ashamed! If you wince every time you see a sign for "fruit and vegetable's" or "taxi's for hire" then you are not alone!Maybe the misplaced apostrophe is nothing of the sort. It could be subliminally correct. After all, bodging is a singular occupation, as is vanishing into your shed for hours on end. All of which reminds me I need to put a few handles on some hook's. Whoops, sorry... hooks.

"Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss is a good read on this subject. More generally, I go by how a sentence sounds to decide where to put commas. My punctuation still isn't very good, but I do try, even on the Web and e-mail. Interestingly, Dyslexia is more common among Left-handers. I've just started reading "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" (1992 edition) by Betty Edwards, which has some interesting discussion on the causes, symptoms and prejudices. For example left-handers, like me, are usually adept at mirror writing. There is a greater proportion of left-handers who are more "bilateral"; these people have more problems telling left from right! Those forced to be right handed tend to have similar problems.I was an AWGB member for a few years and even submitted a couple of articles. I found that there was no editorial control and some people were obviously exploiting the payment of £50/page. In one case, the Editor told me he didn't understand one 5 page article, which was 50% repetition!

A man after my own heart! I'm the only one I know who uses proper spelling in a text message, and I also note you used a semi-colon! Great little device, the old semi-colon, and under-used (and unloved).Now, back to the shed...

To get back to the point; why is there so little on chair making? I'm interested in other peoples take on all aspects, especially steam bending and seating, but also seat carving and joints. I know Robin Fawcett makes chairs; who else?

I suspect the answer is that the site is largely about turning, which began with spindle work and has expanded to bowls. It seems logical that chairs would eventually feature, assuming you are going to make something out of all those spindles! I suspect too that if someone were to kick it all off, then it would become a mainstay, as per the bowls.Let's just hope the same can't be said of punctuation...

Yep, the topics you see are the ones that get started by folk. When the forum started getting regular use a year or so ago there were a few of us doing the bulk of the posting and thread starting with an interest in bowls. It is surprising that we have a bowl section and not a chair section. I would suggest you start a new thread asking for advice or examples on whatever aspects of chairs. Get a few threads like that running and soon we may need to start a whole new chair section to put them in. Most forums have many lurkers who read but don't post for every regular poster, many of those may be chairmakers so post away and lets see who joins in.

I think it would be most effective to start a number of threads, otherwise everything might end up in one enormous thread. There is a tendency for threads to digress and end covering a number of topics. It's human nature, I know, and can lead to some very interesting conversations, but we should try to curb our tendency to wander off the point, often into the subject matter of another thread! A lot of sharply focussed threads would be the most useful for someone browsing for a specific answer.

I need to scan and compress earlier photos to launch some topics. Prepare for (another) barrage!

Donald Todd wrote:I think it would be most effective to start a number of threads, otherwise everything might end up in one enormous thread. There is a tendency for threads to digress and end covering a number of topics. It's human nature, I know, and can lead to some very interesting conversations, but we should try to curb our tendency to wander off the point, often into the subject matter of another thread! A lot of sharply focussed threads would be the most useful for someone browsing for a specific answer.

Whilst it is better that new discussions start in new threads, if threads conversationally wander (like this one has!!) it is possible for us clever mods to split bits out of threads and make them into new ones. If you see one that has wandered off from its original heading and would be best split then you can pm one of us and ask.